The Boeing 737 MAX 9 hatch detachment incident is still fermenting.
Although multiple airlines have missed out on corresponding aircraft models after troubleshooting, Boeing urgently needs to address issues such as quality control management and safety production. The US regulatory requirement to stop expanding production of 737 MAX series aircraft has disrupted Boeing's production capacity delivery plan and also affected Boeing's performance this year and beyond.
Since the accident, Boeing has repeatedly emphasized cooperation with the investigation, while also restructuring the leadership of commercial aircraft and re acquiring the subcontractor at the center of the incident, Spirit AeroSystems.
Boeing's tug of war with US regulatory authorities
On March 6th local time, Jennifer Homendi, Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in the United States, stated at a Senate hearing that investigators had requested a list of 25 employees engaged in doorstep work and related key documents from Boeing, but had not received them after two months.
Hermandy described this move as "absurd". At that time, Homandy also stated that NTSB was still unable to meet with the manager of the hatch team who was on sick leave.
On the evening of March 6th, Boeing announced on its official website that it had provided NTSB with the complete name list of the 737 door team. As for the relevant supporting documents, it also stated that if the disassembly of the door plug was not recorded, there would be no corresponding documents to share.
At the same time, a series of investigations and accountability have also been launched.
On February 26th, a report from the expert review panel guided by the US Congress pointed out that there is a "disconnect" between Boeing's senior management and employees in terms of safety culture, and that all levels of the company lack awareness of relevant safety indicators, making it difficult for employees to distinguish differences between various measurement methods, purposes, and results.
On February 28th, Mike Whitaker, Director of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), informed Boeing executives that Boeing needs to submit a comprehensive action (improvement) plan within 90 days, which should include the FAA's audit results and the latest report from the expert review team.
The FAA stated in a statement that authorities have conducted a six-week audit of Boeing and Mobius, and have found multiple instances of non-compliance with manufacturing quality control requirements. Boeing has non-compliance issues in manufacturing process control, component transportation and storage, and product control.
In the future, FAA will continue to increase the number of investigators at Boeing factories and subcontractors, and will seek independent review of Boeing's quality control system from third parties.
Within Boeing, the entire leadership team of commercial aircraft is also facing restructuring.
In late February, Stan Deal, CEO of Boeing Civil Aircraft Group, stated in an email from an employee that Ed Clark, the leader of the 737 MAX project, would leave the company and be replaced by Katie Ringgold, Vice President of 737 Project Delivery Business, and a new Senior Vice President position for Quality and Safety would be established.
Ed Clark has been working at Boeing for 18 years and was appointed as the leader of the 737 MAX project in 2021. Although the Boeing CEO thanked Clark for his years of contributions in the email, the Seattle Times quoted informed sources as saying Clark's resignation was not voluntary.
Starting to integrate subcontractors is bound to be sharp
Furthermore, in this incident, the direction of Boeing's suppliers is also eye-catching.
In the Alaska Airlines hatch detachment incident, the hatch was manufactured by Burberry in Malaysia and transported to Burberry's factory in Wichita, USA before being transported to Boeing's factory in Renton.
It is bound to bear 70% of the fuselage structure of the Boeing 737 MAX model, originally a company within the Boeing system. After being spun off and sold in 2005, it still maintains close business relations with Boeing.
According to market reports, over the years, there have been multiple negotiations between the independent company, inevitably Rui, and Boeing on issues such as cost, quality control, and delivery pace.
Outsourcing of manufacturing business is a product of modern manufacturing division of labor, and it is even more inevitable in the aircraft manufacturing industry with an ultra long industrial chain. On the one hand, outsourcing can reduce the costs of aircraft manufacturers, but on the other hand, it also increases the risk of not being able to personally monitor quality.
Previously, a report released by the US investigative news website "Leveraging" claimed that the company was suspected of intentionally concealing quality control issues and even encouraging employees to report product defects, while retaliating against those who raised doubts.
After experiencing a new crisis in 2024, Boeing has been in close contact with the inevitable and is starting to re integrate.
On January 17th, during the FAA investigation into the production lines of Boeing and Spire, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun attended Spire's employee conference in Witch, Kansas, where Spire is located, and released a press release stating that both Boeing and Spire will get better.
On March 1st, Boeing announced that it had completed preliminary discussions on the re acquisition of Mobil, stating that this move would further enhance aviation safety and improve quality, but there can be no guarantee that the deal will ultimately be reached.
Stop expanding production, still accepting orders
It should be pointed out that as of now, multiple airlines that have discovered the same vulnerability have fixed the related issues and put the 737 MAX 9 back into operation. According to the overall order data released on Boeing's official website, there are not many orders for the 737 MAX 9, and the dominant one is still the 737 MAX 8 series.
However, due to the impact of this incident, FAA is currently requesting that the 737 MAX series cease production expansion, which will also affect Boeing's future delivery pace and even performance. In January this year, Boeing delivered a total of 27 aircraft, a decrease of nearly 30% compared to the same period last year.
Due to the impact of the previous pandemic on the global supply chain, aircraft manufacturers are still recovering production capacity at a relatively slow pace, which has also led to a serious backlog of aircraft orders.
In March 2024, Ross OConnor, Chief Financial Officer of Avolon, a leading global aircraft leasing company, pointed out during a visit to other companies that "the current demand for aircraft by airlines is increasing, and the market is in short supply. Boeing and Airbus' related aircraft models have been sold out by 2030."
For global airlines, there are not many aircraft manufacturers to choose from, and as a result, although Boeing is still undergoing multiple investigations by US authorities, its pace of accepting orders has not stopped.
In February, Thai Airways and Royal Brunei Airways announced orders for 45 and 4 787 wide body aircraft from Boeing; On March 4th, American Airlines purchased 85 737 MAX 10 aircraft from Boeing; On March 5th, Ethiopian Airlines, the largest airline brand in Africa, announced an order for 8 777-9 aircraft and the possibility of purchasing an additional 12 aircraft.
However, under the scrutiny of the US authorities, Boeing, which is facing safety issues, still has a long way to go before it can resume delivery and improve performance.